The instant the house collapsed, a wave of dust surged up. The dust that had been floating in the air was swept outward by the impact, spreading along the street and obscuring every outline in sight.
Crash, clatter...
The wreckage of the collapsed house kept making faint, scattered noises.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a shock wave burst from the center of the churning dust. Air radiated outward from a single point, sweeping away all the dust before it could settle.
As the view cleared, Garp appeared in the middle of the collapsed ruins.
He was hunched over with his arms spread, and beneath him, a tiny figure was curled up. The little girl had her eyes shut and her hands over her head, her small shoulders still trembling slightly.
She waited a while, then slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a man grinning at her.
"Hey, kid, don't be scared. It's all right. The disaster's over," Garp said with a smile.
The little girl said nothing. Her gaze first settled on Garp's face, then slowly shifted away, sweeping over their surroundings.
Finally, she simply burst into loud sobs.
"My home's gone... Waaah, my home's gone..."
"Uh..." Garp paused, as though trying to think of how to respond. In the end, he could only say quietly, "I'm really sorry. This was all because of me..."
The little girl's sobs stopped for a moment. She raised her head and looked at Garp's face.
Then she quickly stood up and, without hesitation, kicked Garp straight in the crotch.
Thump!
The sharp, muffled impact sounded especially clear amid the now-quiet ruins.
Garp's eyes flew wide in that instant. A short "Oh" escaped his mouth, and his weight tipped slightly forward.
He had been completely unguarded. Against a mere child, he had never